DNR loosens Mille Lacs walleye regulations for entire season
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The Minnesota DNR is allowing anglers to keep two of them this season after years of restrictive regulations. The two walleye that anglers will be allowed to keep must be over 17-inches long, and only one of them can be more than 20-inches.
Regional Fisheries Manager Brian Nerbonne credits successful stocking and survival rates over the past decade.
"All those different groups of fish together are now adults and at the sizes that anglers can harvest them," says Nerbonne. "And so, we've got a a little bit more of an abundance and diversity of sizes and ages of fish for people to harvest. And that makes us a lot more confident about the health of the the fish population when we have that."
The Mille Lacs fishery is managed by both the state and eight Ojibwe tribes under terms of an 1837 treaty.
“The walleye population in Mille Lacs is currently in a good place,” said Brad Parsons, Minnesota DNR fisheries section manager. “Ojibwe Tribes and the Minnesota DNR limited harvest, which allowed for an increased number of adult spawning walleye, and a strong 2024 year class that bodes well for the future health of the fishery.”
There also is an abundance of forage in the lake due to strong yellow perch and cisco 2024 year classes that are keeping walleye in a healthy condition. Higher availability of forage can reduce the risk of excessive angler catch rates.
Nerbonne says they've been able to set a safe harvest limit of more than 200,000 pounds.
"We set that level every year based on things like the population of walleye that we know to be out there in the lake, and then also some of those young fish that are coming up to replace those adult fish down the road," he explains.
Minnesota's walleye season opens Saturday, May 10. Mille Lacs is Minnesota's second-largest inland lake. Located just a couple of hours from most of the Twin Cities' metro area, Mille Lacs Lake is best known for its phenomenal walleye catch rates but also offers several other trophy fishing opportunities.
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